The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-08-12
NINE YEARS IN A DREAM.
singular Effect of n Bullet Wound the
Head-A Lost Memory

/
Singular Effect of Bullet Wound ON the
/ Head-A Lost Memory.
| HsiiowelI tMe) Correspondence Boston Globe
Nodding gently to the zephyrs that ruf1e up
the surface of the Kennebec river in this city.
there lies a staunch looking soop. with her
| Prov pointed toward the old town landing At
ner helm. watching the blue wreatls of smoke
| ascend heavenward from brik-wood pipe sits
man past the summer of life. He has half
soldier, haff-sailor appearance, keen eye and
and hangs nearly to his shoulders, curling at
the ends. It is yellowish gray in color. and
very thick. mussache aud goatee give him
the appearance of a veteran of Napoieons Old
Guard, while the BRASS, eagle-em blazoned but
tons On his waiscoat and silver badge, inlaid
| with various colored stones, inform one that he
/ was once q soldier in Uncle Sans army. and
once listened to the omnibus zip of the mimic
bullets as they chanted their sangunary songs
| on the field of carnage
The name of this man is Lieutenant j. N.
Coffin. He was born at Portsmouth. n. H., IN
1926. His life and adventures would fill volumes
and a story of his hairbreadth escapes and
| thrilling. adventures would make of
| juvenile Indian elayers and embryo Buffalo
| Bills When he became old enough his mother
| sent him to school, and ne scarcely missed day
during that period OF his life until he graduated
| at the Portsmouth High-school. California had
| fascination for him. and thitber he went and
| studied law. While in the Golden State war
broke out with Mexico. and he shoudered his
| musket, like many of his New En- gland brethren,
| to do battle in his country's cause. He was at
| Mexican fortress and made prisoner of the COM
mander before the colors were pulled down. For
| this meritorious conduct he was made q ser
| geant.
| This hardy son of the Granite State followed
the ever-varying fortunes of the war, and. at its
close, he. with company of twenty five
| lean war, John H. jackson, who a
| colonel in the Of the rebellion and who
| is now recently. employed in the
Boston custom house, started from Panama in
a dugout for the city of San Francisco. Lieuten-
ant Coffin left the party in Mazat.an and
shipped before the mast on French whaler,
and was wrecked in Mazatlan harbor by tornado.
Only nineteen out of crew of sixty-eght sur
| vived, Lieutenant Cofn being one of the four
that reached the shore by swimming The rest
were rescued by the British man-of war Cham
pion. After spending many years in California
he returned his naive State. and when the
war of the rebellion broke out he enlisted
lieutenant IN the Thirteenth New HAMPSHIRE
regiment While stationed near the Ports
mouth IVA. navy yard. stray shot from the
enemy grazed the top OF his head. The wound
had a most singular effect upon his memory.
For nine years he lived as in dream. and
all the events of the war we're almost entirely
forgotten. He was sent TO the hospital attached
to the quartermaster department. in Alexan-
dria. Va, and afterwards transferred to
Lincoln Hospital. in Washington. d. c. His
general health was good. and he had the use of
tools in the quartermaster's department., to
which the hospital was attached. Having
learned the carpenters trade in Portsmouth, N
H., when a boy. the old knack of handling the
plane and chsel soon returned to him. All that
he did was in a sort of mechanical way. His
memory tickle that he obliged to
member. If he went down town for pound of
nails or anything else without a memorandum
of what he was after. he never could remember
what errand he started on.
In 1870, when Captain Hall obtained a COM
mission for arctic expedition. friend pro-
cured Lieutenant Coffin the Office of ships
penter on board the Polaris, thinking that
change of climate might be of benefit to him.
Little he thought of the consequences, and the
pecularities that were to arise. The Polaris
started on her ever-memorable cruise, and Lieu
tenant Coffin gave entire satisfaction. He still
adhered to his habit of making notes, and for
tunately he Gid. for he would have had no his
tory of his life from the time he struck by
the stray bullet until the return of his memory.
nine years later. 1t may be remembered that
the Polaris that season penetrated further north
than anv vessel ever had been before, passing
several degrees beyond the supposed ''open sea"
of Dr. Kane, proving that navigator's theory
myth. After putting the Polaris in winter quar-
ters. Captain Hall made dog sledge journey of
several weeks toward the north pole He
reached latitude S2o 16>, which the highest
point ever reached by any white man. On his
return, from great exhaustion, he was taken
sick and died. 1t Lieutenant Collins sad
privilege to make his casket, in which he
placed, and follow his remains to the grave.
hundreds Of miles further north than any other
Christian seDulture.
On the death of Captain Hail. the command Of
the Polaris devolved on Captain Burlington 1t
his in tention. as soon as the ship was
leased from the ice, to push on as far as he could
the ensuing season The ship had been
iammed by the ice in her winter quarters as to
make her leak very badly. and In a place which
could not be reached to be repaired 1t so
late in the season before she was released from
the ice, and the difficulties of proceeding further
north in her crippled condition great that it
was thought best to return home. Accordingly
the ships head was pointed toward the south
and the return voyage begun. The Polaris had
not proceeded far when she became embedded
in the ice again aud drifted SOUTH attached to
large floe all the time exposed to the danger of
being crushed to pieces. During a severe gale
OF wind the ship was IN great danger and prep
arations were made to abandon her Provisions
were placed On the foe, and the crew left the
ship trust their lives to the precarious chances
of being picked up some hundreds or miles
further south. This was partly accomplished,
about half of the men being on the ice when the
violence of tho gale broke the ships fastenings
and soon whirled her away. and soon the parties
were out of sight of each other The ship
in a sinking condition, but by great exertions she
finally run on shore. Lieutenant Coffin was
one of the seven men who landed from the ship.
They built a shed tent from lumber and old
canvas obtained from tho Polaris, in which to
pass the winter. While settled in this climate,
the strangest incident in Lieutenant Collins life
took place
For years after being wounded in Virginia he
had been subject to severe headaches, and at
divers times threatened with brain fever.
One day when the mercury cuddled down in the
vicinity of so below zero he left the Shanty for a
short walk the ice The pains in his head
we're excruciating and he longed for relief.
Around the ship was place kept clear of ice.
and by a misstep he fell into the chilling water.
With remarkable activity for one dressed for an
arctic winter, he scrambled out and succeeded
in getting back the hut, which fortunately
was at hand, before being frozen to death.
With the help of his companions he removed his
clothing and turned in.
How long he slept he knew not, but when he
awoke his memory had returned. SDringing
from his bunk he looked wildly around. and
cried to his companions: "Where is my regi-